Hi Suresh,
Bulvertide is being used for the treatment of HDV infection. Limited clinical data have shown that withdrawal of bulvertide is accompanied by rebound of HDV RNA. Currently there is no data demonstrating the establishment of HDV RNA suppression with finite therapy of bulvertide.
I am currently on pegINF.
Shall i wait for pegINF to show results or shall i combine it with bulevirtide to maximize chances of success.
Do you think that i should try bulevirtide, specially it is costing 35,000 USD for 6 months and 70,000 USD for 12 months.
Dear Suresh,
I assume that you do not live in country which covers treatment with bulvertide?
Do you have any tests results with HBsAg?
Yes country i am living does not cover bulevirtide and my consultant has never used it. I will be the first in the country to use it. It will require special permission. Also as doctor has no experience then he does not know what to expect in terms of side effects.
Dear Suresh,
The decision about to proceed has be one that you discuss with your doctor. What I can tell you is this:
we know that TDF/TAF + pegIFN can give a persistent elimination of HDV RNA after treatment but only in a small proportion of patients.
while we don’t have any clinical data that this is improved with the addition of bulvertide, we know that bulvertide + TDF/TAF works well to control the disease.
Again it would be useful to have a quantitative HBsAg result to provide more commentary.
I hope this helps you with your decision making.
Hello am chukwu
I went for a blood test and I was told that I have
Hep B e Ab and Hep B Surface Ag positive
Please what does that means
Hi Chukwu,
Some additional test results would be helpful to advise you: these are HBV DNA and ALT.
Ok. I haven’t done any additional test. This what my doctor sent to me. But I think I should go for more test
So what does that means
Hep B e Ab and Hep B Surface Ag positive
Hi Chukwu,
You likely have chronic HBV which has entered the immune tolerant phase (HBeAg seroconversion or the presence of HBeAg antibodies). The other test results are important to provide you with more information.
Damn. Does that means have been damaged in my liver. And I haven’t been sick or have any symptoms.
Dear Chukwu,
This is certainly very disappointing but please know that chronic HBV can persist for years without causing any liver damage. The fact that you feel fine is a good sign.
However, you should get your HBV DNA and ALT evaluated as soon as possible: this will determine of you should receive antiviral treatment.
Ok I will try and do that. But what surprise me most is
How did I get it.
And does that means that it has been in my body for long time
Can I also marry with this. Or I can’t marry. And can it go away with time or it can’t. Am shievering
Dear @Chukwu,
Thank you for sharing your story. I understand it is a stressful time at the moment, but please know that many of us in the forum live with Hepatitis B and lead normal lives.
Regarding your blood tests:
To get a better understanding of what is happening in your body, you should go back to your doctor and ask for:
Regarding when you got it, it is very hard to tell with each person because it can stay in the body for so long without making you sick. Most people get it when they are babies or children, and this could just be from scratches and blood exchange.
You can still marry with this condition. I myself have Hep B and have been married for almost 7 years. There are many on this forum who are also married and have children. There are many ways to protect others around you.
A chronic infection can go away in some people, but in most people it stays. Getting the appropriate monitoring and treatment is the best way to live with it, if it doesn’t go away. If you get proper management of the condition, then you won’t have as much liver damage.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
Thank you so much. This got me so worried
Hi,
Thanks, may I ask what is the significance of HBsAg quantitative?
Here the result is just showing Reactive.
Hi Suresh,
A qualitative assay (one showing reactive or non-reactive) is only useful for tell us when there is very little HBsAg in the blood. It is useful for determining if a person can have their antiviral therapy removed or when they have achieved functional cure but it cannot tell us accurately how much HBsAg you have circulating in your blood. Understanding if and how fast HBsAg is declining during therapy can tell us things about how likely you are to achieve functional cure of HBV.
Yes I agree but my problem is HDV.
I have HBV but HDV is causing main concern.
Is there significance of HBsAg quantitative for HDV.
Dear Suresh,
Functional cure of HBV means that HBsAg is no longer being produced in the liver. If you recall, HDV needs HBsAg from HBV infection to produce its viral envelope and to be released into the blood.
HBsAg decline during TAF + pegIFN therapy is a good sign that you may achieve control of your HDV infection. It is also possible (but less likely) that control of your HDV infection will persist after removal of pegIFN if you dont have a good HBsAg response.
Hope this helps.
Hi @ThomasTu
Was doing some readings online and came accross “AST to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) Calculator” and
“Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) Calculator” could these help ascertain a diagnosis for liver cirrhosis or Fibrosis?
thinking of sharing it here, for our community experts to help interpret values for us and give us good insight on it.
thank-you, hope to hear from you.
Cornelius